Lid-support.



G. W BEAULE.

LID SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 26. I917,

280,637. Patented Out. 8, 12m.

INVENTOR LM+M A TTOR/VEV STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W.'IBEADLE, OF NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 AMERICANGRAPI-IOPHONECOMIPANY, OF IBRID GEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A'CORPORATION OFWEST VIRGINIA.

LID-SUPPORT.

PatentedOct S, 1918.

Application filed October 26. 1917. Serial No. 198,639.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE V. BEADLE, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of New Rochelle, New York, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Lid-Supports, which invention is fully setforth in the following specification.

This invention is intended primarily for supporting the'cover of thecabinet for a Grafonola or other talking-machine; but it can be employedin other service, such as maintaining in desired position the lunged topof any box or chest or trunk, or any other movable closure or door.Among the objects of the invention are: to provide a contrivance bywhich the cover or closure can be opened or closed by one hand only;and, in case of a vertically-opening cover which, when lifted, wouldotherwise drop down by its own gravity, to prevent such unintendeddropping of the cover; and to provide a device which will present theminimum obstruction in the angular opening of a hinged top or cover.Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from theensuing description.

The invention consists broadly of providing a pivoted guide-plate uponthe box or stationary member, in combination wlth a rigid prop pivotedupon the lid or movable member, with suitable friction-means coactingupon said plate and prop. Other features of the invention will beclearly set forth in the appended claims.

The invention is susceptible of expression in various physical forms;but, for the sake of clearness, one embodiment, as applied to aGrafonola cabinet, is set forth in the accompanying drawings. In thesedrawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a Grafonola cab net, with its lidin its ralsed position, to present a slde-view of a simple.

form of the invention employed therewith; Fig. 2 is a front elevation,on a larger scale, of the same form of the device;

Fig. 3 is a side-view of the pivoted guideplate (partly broken away),and of its supporting-plate.

Referring to these drawings, 1 represents the side of the cabinet, and 2the lid or cover hinged thereto at 3. 4 is the prop, shown as a rigidand straight bar, pivoted at its upper end to the cover, at 5, anddepending through a vertical slot in the platform or deck 6 -(whichsupports the talking-machine). Below said slot, a block 7 is secured tothe wall 1 of the cabinet; and to this block is secured thesupporting-plate 8,-as

by screws 99, The guide-plate 10 is shown as rectangular, .and with thefour outwardlyturned fingers 11, one at each corner, to provide aguide-way at least as wide as the ,width of bar 4; and said plate alsocarries the member 12, extending outwardly from one side thereof-andthen across, to lie parallel to the main portion of the plate 10.

Said plate 10 is pivoted upon its support '8,

as by a rivet 13; and, preferably, the material of plate 10 has beenforced outwardly, in a countersink around said rivet, both to let thehead of the rivet lie below the surface of plate 10, and alsoto providea smaller bearing-surface against the face of plate 8,all as indicatedin Fig. 2.

Toassemble th; device, first, a strip 14 of red fibe1".,or othersuitable friction-mate rial, shown as rectangular and with its fourcorners cut away so as to fit within the four fingers 11, isplacedagainst the face of said 'plate 10; then the bar 4 is located withinsaid four fingers and. against said strip 14;

' next, a second and similar friction-str1p15 is similarly placed on theouter side of said bar i; then, a plate16, shown as a slightlybent flatspring, is similarly positioned; and, finally, the screw 17, carried bythe member 12, is turned down against the plate or spring 16 to producethe desired amount of friction. If desired a lock-nut 18 can be employedon this screw.

When the parts are properly adjusted, the lid 2 can be readily raised orlowered with one hand; and, owing to the friction, it will.

remain in whatever .position it has been placed. Preferably the lowerend of the prop 4 will be provided with a stop, as 19, to limit theupward movement. With a lighter cover, less friction would suffice; witha heavier cover, greater friction is required, to prevent the lidslamming'down of its own weight when released.

In the arrangement indicated by Fig. 1, it will be noted that theportion a-b of the prop (the portion exposed in profile, when the lid israised, as in Fig. l) is a straight line, and offers the minimum amountof ob struction to the angular opening between the side-edge of thecabinet and the lid.

That is, the points a and form, with the hinge 3, asubstantially-equ1lateral trlangle. It is preferable, therefore, thatthe parts should be so arranged that, when the lid angular movement ofthestraight prop is permitted by the pivotal mounting of the guide-plateFor the sake of clearness, one form of the invention has thus beendisclosed in full detail. Yet it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to the precise 'construction and arrangement set forth,but might be embodied in various forms. Also parts might be inverted ortransposed, and parts omitted, without departing from the spirit of the.invention.

The invention having been thus described, What is claimed is:

1. A support for the lid of a box or the like, consisting of thecombination of a plate pivoted to the box and having fouroutwardly-projecting fingers and also a member lying parallel to themain portion of said plate, a set-screw protruding through said memberand toward the main portion of said plate, two strips offriction-material and a spring-plate located within said fingers andbetween the face of said plate and the adjacent end of said screw, and astraight bar pivoted to the lid and depending at an angle of about sixtydegrees to the lid when opened about sixty degrees, sa1d bar extendingslidably between said fingers and also between the two frictionstripsaforesaid.

2. A support for the lid of a box or the i etween said fingers and alsobetween the.

two friction-strips aforesaid.

3. A support for the lid of a box or the like, consisting of thecombination of a plate pivoted to the box and having side-members proecting at right angles from two opposite sides of the main portion ofsaid plate and also having a member lying parallel to said main portion,a set-screw protruding through said parallel member and toward said mainportion, and a bar pivoted to the lid and extending slidably betweensaid sidemembers and also between said main portion and the adjacent endof said screw.-

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

0. A. HANSON, N. N. GADKIN.

